Constellation
Before I visited this exhibition at the Pavel Zoubok Gallery on West 23rd
Street, the intrigue for me was not as much about the art but about the
relationships that sustained over vast distances and nurtured over many
years. As a mail artist myself, I know the importance of the process of
creating the piece and then releasing it into the world with the hopes that
it will reach its intended recipient. This exchange is essential and often
very private. I was curious to see how this would translate into the
four walls of a gallery. Breaking out of these walls is the essence of
mail art.
When I entered the gallery, I was drawn into a world of objects, layers
and intricate constructions. Buster Cleveland’s work was especially
glittering and chaotic. May Wilson’s mummy-like dolls were particularly
eye catching and demanded attention. The graphic text of Al Hansen’s
work felt as if it was screaming directly at me while drawing me into his
collages. After getting beyond the initial glimpses, I was able to find the
evidence of the relationships embedded within the work. Ray Johnson
included a letter to May Wilson’s son, Bill, in one collage and John Evans
included several bits of correspondence between himself and Johnson,
Cleveland and Wilson. These were the fragments that I needed to
draw the imaginary lines that connect this constellation, and they left
me intrigued for more information about their friendships.
Each of these artists drew from their everyday lives, blurring the
distinct lines of public versus private. Often their work contained playful
commentary about the bureaucracy of the New York art scene. A focal
point of a collage by John Evans was a letter from the curator of the
Whitney Museum of Art thanking him “for the opportunity to view his work
and express interest in the museum.” Another example is how Al Hansen
turned found objects such as cigarette butts and Hershey
wrappers unexpectedly into artwork. Finally, the dimensional collages
of Buster Cleveland contained many pop cultural references such
as Morris the Cat and Coca Cola.
As we climb our way through this digital era, the work of artists such
as this constellation becomes more important than ever. It gives us an
opportunity for us to reflect on how we approach our own relationships
and nurture the artwork in our everyday lives. We should take a moment to
value the process of corresponding through the mail and passing real objects
between each other before we give up completely to this ever-present virtual
world that we are constantly sucked into.
By Mare Dianora ©
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